Beyond the Horizon
by sallythedestroyerofworlds23
Summary: -AU-Kurosaki Ichigo is a surgeon at the Karakura Hospital, with one particular ability: he can see ghosts. His life is about to take a turn when he tries to help the ghost of Kuchiki Rukia find peace and move on...before they drive each other insane.
1. Death

_I've always been able to see ghosts._

_

* * *

_

Kurosaki Ichigo, twenty-seven years old and head surgeon of the Karakura General Hospital, stopped in his tracks as he heard an all-too-familiar commotion coming from the newly arrived ambulance.

"Dr. Kurosaki!"

He heard his name being called and immediately turned to see the paramedics rushing into the hospital, pushing a stretcher and yelling instructions frantically as they went.

"Dr. Kurosaki!" the young brown-haired paramedic wore a distressed expression that was rare on his normally carefree face as he called Ichigo again once he had jogged up to the stretcher.

"What is it Keigo?" Ichigo didn't bother with formalities as he addressed his longtime classmate.

"She suffered from multiple stab wounds to the chest and abdomen about an hour before we made it to the scene." Keigo began to inform Ichigo as they rushed along the white halls of the hospital. "We suspect her stomach and her lung were punctured; bleeding is profuse."

Ichigo only spared a quick glance at the bleeding patient lying on the stretcher; her face was half covered by an oxygen mask kept in place by one of the paramedics and her eyes were closed, but her chest moved weakly up and down, signaling she was still alive.

"Get her ready for surgery immediately." Ichigo instructed in the confident voice of an experienced doctor. Keigo and the others immediately nodded and Ichigo followed, preparing himself for the procedure.

* * *

_Maybe it's because I work at a hospital, and I'm around death often._

_

* * *

_

Ichigo's forehead glistened with sweat and his eyebrows were furrowed in absolute concentration as he worked.

Several doctors stood around the table illuminated by a bright light. They all wore the customary surgical gowns, latex gloves and caps, and masks that only left their eyes visible to each other.

As they worked, the constant beeping of machinery was as much of a reassurance as it was a pressure builder.

"Dr. Kurosaki, her vitals are-"

"I _know!"_ he cut the female doctor's anxious voice off with a shout that came out louder than he'd meant due to frustration.

"We're loosing her," he growled, looking listening to the erratic beeping filling the atmosphere. "I'm going to shock her." he announced.

* * *

_Whatever it is, for as long as I can remember…_

_

* * *

_

Ichigo removed his surgical mask and looked down with saddened eyes.

The woman -hardly older than a girl, really- looked so young. Her pale face was surrounded by thick dark hair and despite its coldness, he knew it should have been a beautiful face.

The eyes of his colleagues all glanced down pitifully.

With a heavy heart, Ichigo looked at his watch and spoke over the flat noise of the machine.

"Time of death, 2:44am."

* * *

_I've been able to see the souls of the dead._

_

* * *

_

Ichigo rubbed his tired eyes as he gathered his coat and other belongings from his locker.

"Kurosaki-kun…"

He turned at the sound of Inoue Orihime's soft hesitant voice. Her large gray eyes looked at him sadly.

"I'm sorry." she said.

Inoue had been his next door neighbor before he'd even entered Med school. She was one of the few people who understood Ichigo to a certain extent; she knew he had a tendency to beat himself up when he lost someone on the table.

"Don't worry about it, Inoue." he said gently, forcing a smile unto his face. "It happens. All part of the job." he spoke the words he'd repeated constantly but never quite could believe himself.

Inoue, however, either did not notice his lie or didn't call him on it. She merely nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow then, Kurosaki-kun."

Before she left, Ichigo asked, "Want me to walk you?" he offered, knowing it was dangerous to walk out of the Hospital that late at night; especially for someone like Inoue.

"That's okay." she said quickly. "Uryu-kun is driving me home. I'll be fine." she assured him.

Ichigo nodded and the auburn-haired girl bid him good night and left.

The bright-haired surgeon waited until she was out of sight before letting the smile slip from his features.

Before he knew it, he punched his closed lockers with a loud _clang._ "Damn it." he cursed, not because of the pain in his knuckles.

_She was so young…her whole life ahead of her._ he lamented. Another one he couldn't save. More blood on his hands.

Feeling wretched, Ichigo allowed himself to slump against the row of lockers, his forehead pressed against the cool metal and his eyes closed.

He didn't know how long he spent like that, but he was brought out of his miserable position by an unfamiliar voice he assumed to belong to one of the late-shift nurses.

"That doesn't look particularly comfortable." the voice spoke. It wasn't high-pitched, like Inoue's, but it was distinctly female.

"Piss off." he didn't care about being rude; Ichigo wasn't known for his manners, but everyone at the hospital knew not to interrupt him when he was in one of his moods.

"That's not a very nice way to talk to a woman. I take it you don't go out much?"

A nurse with an attitude. Just what he needed.

"I don't need this." he muttered under his breath as he straightened from his position and started to turn to leave…but stopped at the sight before him.

"What's with the face? You look like you've seen a ghost."

The woman's words were lost on him as he stared.

Before him stood a slight woman, with dark hair framing her haughty face and a pair of indigo eyes.

He recognized her instantly.

He had seen her die less than an hour before.

"I'm Kuchiki Rukia. I need your help."

* * *

**A/N: So I picked this story back up...but with a twist. I've re-written it, and as you can see, this is pretty different from what I originally wrote, but it works better with the idea that I have in mind. There will be changes in plot and in the events themselves, but the general outline of what I had planned is still here. Just...different. The concept of Rukia as aghost and Ichigo a human who can see her is still there. And yes, their characters might also be different since Ichigo is a doctor -not a college student- and Rukia only just died, which makes for a whole different characterization than from someone who had been dead for over a year. **

**Personally, I like it better this way and I can work with it better now. I know its not what you were looking for, but I still hope you'll give this story a chance :) Reviews are always welcome and appreciated^^  
**


	2. Transparent

"I'm Kuchiki Rukia. I need your help."

"_Shit!_" Ichigo swore, his breath returning. He resisted the urge to take a hand up to his chest over the place where he knew his heart was still beating erratically against his ribcage. "You scared the _hell _outta me!" he informed the raven-haired girl.

Said girl's only reaction was to raise a delicate eyebrow and fold her arms over her chest. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." she said, a slight smirk coloring her voice.

"Whatever." Ichigo mumbled. _Perfect._ That was just what he needed. Another ghost to annoy him.

"Anyway, like I was saying," she went on, apparently not noticing his exasperated expression. "I need your help."

Ichigo's eyebrows furrowed. Using his thumb and forefinger, he pinched the bridge of his nose and shut his eyes in an attempt to fend off a headache he felt quickly coming on. "Look kid-"

"Who are you calling a _kid_?" The girl huffed indignantly.

Ichigo ignored her. "I'm not really in the mood for this now, okay? I want to go home, take a shower and sleep for twelve hours. I can't help you right now."

"But-"

"Try going into the light or something." he said dismissively, and with his coat in his hand started to walk out of the locker room and past the girl.

"What? What are you talking about?" she asked, moving to go after him. "I just wanted to see if you knew what I'm doing here." she nearly had to jog to keep up with his long strides as he moved down the hall.

"How the hell should I know?" he responded without looking at her, moving straight ahead and hoping she'd go away. "Unfinished business I guess." Ghosts were usually the same; some stayed behind because they never accomplished their bachelor's degree or their coin collection. Others stayed behind because there was no one to take care of their eight-year-old daughter; or because they needed someone to feed their Chihuahua.

It may have sounded like a joke, but Ichigo couldn't count the times he'd had to break into some lonely bastard's house with dog food in order to have an annoying ghost stop pestering him.

"Eh?" the girl sounded confused. "No; I mean, what am I doing _here._ In a _hospital_. For no apparent reason." she spoke slowly like when speaking to a toddler. It annoyed him.

Ichigo, noticing she wasn't going to go away without some type of answer finally stopped in his tracks and turned to look down at her. He vaguely noted that the raven-haired girl was _short_.

"Let me make this clear so you can understand: I. don't. know. I don't know, okay?" Ichigo leaned down to hiss at her. "I guess since you died here this is were you stayed. You should probably go and find out what's keeping you tied to this world that won't let you move-" he was about to say 'move on', but he just noticed that the girl's face had changed the moment he'd said the word 'died'.

Her indigo eyes had gone wide and her mouth hung slightly open. Then she seemed to compose herself and she shook her head, narrowing her eyes at him and glaring. "What the hell is wrong with you? Are you insane?"

_No, but I see dead people. Most people would find that strange._ Instead of saying that out loud, looked at the girl evenly and said, "I don't know why you're flipping out, kid. I'm just-"

"I'm not a _kid!_" she interrupted again, her voice rising. "And how am I supposed to not flip out when you start telling me I'm dead!"

"Well what?" Ichigo started, not bothering to mask his irritation. "Would you prefer 'out of service'?" the sarcasm dripped from his voice. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew he should have been a bit more sensitive, since the girl had just died and he hadn't been able to do a thing to save her; the least he could do was try to be civil to her ghost. But at the moment, his frustration coupled with the fact that it was past three in the morning and he hadn't slept in over 24 hours -the perks of being a doctor- were doing nothing for his mood.

"You're insane! And rude for that matter!" The girl accused, looking peeved. "Do you make it a habit to go around telling people that they're dead?"

"Only the ones that are."

"Ha ha." she laughed humorlessly. "Well I have news for you, buddy. I'm not dead."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow, but she didn't seem to notice and went on.

"And if you're not going to help me, then I'll just find someone else who can tell me what I'm doing here. Someone _without_ mental issues." With that, she started to turn away-

"Wait!" Ichigo called after her.

"_What?" _she whirled around and glared vividly. Ichigo didn't notice.

"You…You mean to tell me…" Ichigo struggled with his words for once.

The raven-head just looked at him impatiently. "What? Spit it out so I can leave already. _Oh God. _Byakuya is going to _kill_ me if I'm late for dinner-" she started mumbling to herself, but still, Ichigo only stared dumbfounded.

Then finally, his brown eyes softened and he looked at the girl, who was still muttering something about some Byakuya guy going to have her head, with pity. "You don't know, do you?" he asked softly.

The girl paused her ranting long enough to look at him questioningly. "I don't know what? What I'm doing in this hospital? I think we've established that."

"That you're dead." Ichigo stated without missing a beat.

He could tell by the widening of her eyes that the girl knew from his tone that he _wasn_'t joking. She took a shaky step back. "Look, I don't know what your problem is, but you're freaking me out. I'll be leaving now-"

"Rukia." Ichigo said. She halted again and looked at him, some emotion -_fear-_ dancing in her eyes. "Your name was Rukia, wasn't it?"

She nodded slowly.

"Look, Rukia," he started, his voice sympathetic. "I'm sorry to tell you but, you _are_ dead."

He could see that she was about to open her mouth to protest, but he went on before she could. "My name is Kurosaki Ichigo. I'm the surgeon who operated on you earlier tonight. I'm sorry, Rukia. I couldn't save you."

He could see Rukia's hands had started to shake. "Y-you're lying. I'm not… I can't be dead!" she shrieked, her voice breaking.

Ichigo's face remained solemn. "I'm sorry."

Then Rukia's expression morphed into one of anger, and before he knew it, the girl had closed most of the distance between them and had raised her hand, swinging it towards his face…

Where the resounding sound of a slap should have been heard there was nothing but the whoosh of air. Instead of pain, Ichigo felt an odd chill go through his cheek where Rukia's hand had just gone through.

Rukia was now looking at her hand, her face a mask of horror. Her whole body was trembling. "I _can't _be…"

Ichigo was respectfully silent.

"I… _How_?" Rukia choked out.

Ichigo was surprised to see that there were no tears running down her face, and he had to wonder if ghosts could cry. He had to look away from her broken orbs, scratching the back of his head as he regretfully answered. "I don't know the details. You were brought to the hospital unconscious, stabbed."

Her pupils seemed to shrink in horror. "_Stabbed?_"

Ichigo regretted telling her now. He'd never met a ghost who didn't know was dead, and he supposed that finding out you'd been stabbed wasn't exactly light news to take. Not that finding out you were dead should be easy in the first place.

He nodded wordlessly.

"…What do I do now?" se asked, but she wasn't looking at him. Rukia was now clutching her arms as if she was cold, looking utterly lost. "I just finished closing the deal for the Kuchiki corporation. Our celebration dinner was tonight- Byakuya was going to present me as his business partner, and I-" she was cut off as a dry sob shook her body. Still, not a single tear came.

Ichigo looked at the scene feeling his chest get heavy. He tried to push away the feeling, reminding himself that it wasn't his responsibility-

_It's your fault she died._ An inner voice reminded him. _If only you were a better doctor, you could have prevented this._

Rukia was currently clutching her arms, looking like she might pass out any minute. She probably would have- if ghosts could faint.

Ichigo heaved a deep sigh, knowing he would regret the next words out of his mouth before he finished uttering them. "Rukia," his voice broke through her stupor and she looked up at him, seemingly finding her grip on herself for a moment. Ichigo hesitated for a moment before, "You could come with me. Stay in my apartment for the night; while you get used to…this." he finished lamely.

Rukia looked at him warily, but he thought he saw something like a glimmer of hope in her eyes. "I don't know…"

Despite himself, Ichigo was annoyed at her wariness. It was only natural, he realized, but really! Here he was being _nice_ and that's how she reacted? "No need to look so worried. It's not like I can take advantage of you or anything-"

He wanted to kick himself the moment the words left his mouth.

"I never said such a thing!" Rukia blurted out. "Idiot!"

Ichigo's eyes widened; despite the anger and perhaps fluster, she didn't seem to have taken any more offense to his statement. "Well, come on then." he said, and started his way out to the hospital parking lot.

In a matter of minutes he was behind the wheel of his car with Rukia on the passenger seat. Aside from when she tried to pull the seatbelt on and her hand only passed harmlessly through, the ride went without incident.

Ichigo didn't normally listen to the radio when he drove home late at night -it usually only served to give him a headache-, and he wasn't the biggest conversationalist either. At any rate, Rukia seemed to be too deep into her own thoughts to make conversation; so the ride was silent except for the pitter patter of rain against the windshield and the 'squeak squeak' of the wipers.

"We're here." he finally announced when he pulled up at the parking lot.

The rain had lightened to a drizzle as he exited the car and, with a slight surprise he realized Rukia had exited the car by passing through the door. However, instead of the surprised and slightly horrified expression she'd worn when her hand had passed through him and through the seatbelt, she looked completely stoic and emotionless now.

Ichigo almost asked if she was okay- before realizing what a stupid question that was.

"Come on." he said only, starting up to the lobby of his apartment building.

He continued on into the elevator, Rukia a couple of steps behind him, and together they went up to the fifteenth floor. Once there, he led them to apartment 1546, opening the door and letting Rukia walk in before him then closing the door behind them.

Ichigo dropped his coat over the back of a seat in the living room before heading over to the kitchen, which was immediately to the left when you entered the apartment. After quickly unbuttoning the top few buttons of his shirt, he opened the fridge and went straight to the beer cans. Popping one open before starting towards the living room.

When he made it to the couch and turned on the TV, beer in one hand, remote in the other, Ichigo looked over his shoulder and saw Rukia standing just before the door, exactly where she'd come in.

"Umm, the guest room is cluttered with garbage right now," Ichigo started. "But you can go to my room if you like." at her immediate look of alarm, he added, "I'll take the couch tonight."

She seemed like she wanted to protest, but Ichigo turned back to the TV, signaling that he wasn't going to hear it. He never heard any footsteps signaling she'd left, but when he turned back, she was no longer standing there, so he figured she'd listened to him.

Ichigo took a long swing of his beer, his eyes drooping with exhaustion as he sunk further into the couch.

Just what was he getting himself into?

-x-

Rukia lay on the full-sized mattress with her eyes wide open, staring into nowhere.

Her mind, however, was racing.

_Byakuya, Renji, Ukitake, Kaien, Miyako…_ All the people she loved, all the people she'd be disappointing with her death.

The business deal she had been about to seal with the owner of Kyoka Suigetsu corporations, that would guarantee the success of Kuchiki corp with such a strong allegiance.

With a pang of pain, she remembered the ecstatic look on Kaien and Renji's faces when she'd told them she'd managed to close the deal. And the brief flash of pride upon her brother's eyes…

Now all that was gone. Because she'd just had to go and get herself killed. _Great job, Rukia. _She thought bitterly.

Then she exhaled a grieved breath. Rukia raised her hand up to face level, looking at her palm with mourning eyes as she remembered it passing through Ichigo's face when she'd tried to slap him for telling she was dead…

Of course, deep down she'd already suspected something was off. Which was probably why his words had stung as they did.

Still, try as she might, Rukia couldn't remember anything about how she died. She knew she didn't have amnesia; she still remembered all her friends and family and her life- she even remembered that tonight she was supposed to join her brother and Aizen Sosuke for a dinner celebrating their partnership.

But no memories of anything leading to her death came.

She didn't try too hard to remember. She figured finding out she was dead was bad enough for one night. And Ichigo had told her she had been _stabbed…_ She shuddered at the thought. Not that she didn't want to know what had happened; but for now, it was probably just as well. Later, when she was feeling less shocked, she promised herself, she'd try to remember.

For now, she would just try to absorb the fact that she was _dead;_ that she was gone.

She but her lip to stop a sob from escaping. She felt her eyes prickle with imaginary tears; she'd already learned that she could no longer shed real tears…

And the realization of that fact made a sob escape. It was soon accompanied by another, and another, until she was reduced to a sobbing bundle curled up on a stranger's bed.

-x-

Ichigo woke up feeling incredibly sore and still tired.

He blinked some of the sleep out of his eyes enough to look at his wristwatch- _8:22am._ The low-volume television was still on, and he reached for the remote to click it off before standing from his spot on the couch.

He stretched his cramped muscles and grabbed the previously discarded beer can, its scarce contents sloshing as he did, and he went to the kitchen to throw it away.

The apartment was barely lit despite the hour, and he had his expensive thick curtains to thank for that. Still, something was off…

It took him a moment to realize it was a sound, coming from his bedroom. He walked in its direction; the door was left slightly ajar. He peeped inside and saw a slight figure, curled up on her side facing away from him, shaking.

He realized then that the sound he'd heard was sobbing.

Ichigo started to turn back and close the door behind him, but stopped. After cursing the bout of pity that kept softening him up, he turned back and fully opened the door to his room. The sound alerted Rukia and she turned from her position to look at him with startled eyes that, he couldn't help but notice, weren't red or puffy or even glassy, as the eyes of someone crying should have been.

Feeling awkward under her gaze, Ichigo scratched the back of his head and looked away as he spoke. "Err, you wanna come have breakfast?"

Rukia looked at him oddly. "I'm not hungry." something about the way she said it reminded Ichigo that ghosts weren't really supposed to eat at all.

"I know," he lied. "I mean, would you like to come join me for breakfast?" he rephrased, letting her know that he was offering his company rather than food.

After a moment of deliberation, Rukia finally nodded and sat up, and the two made their way to the kitchen.

Ichigo went popped some bread in the toaster and poured himself a glass of orange juice while he waited. Once they were done, he started gratefully biting into the toast while he leaned against the countertop.

Rukia eyed him strangely. "Don't you even put butter on that?" she gestured from the darkened bread currently hanging from his mouth.

"No." he spoke with a full mouth. After swallowing a large mouthful, he added, "Why mess with the simple beauty of a good piece of toast?"

Rukia scrunched up her face in apparent distaste.

Ichigo shrugged. "You don't know what you're-" _missing_, he was about to say, when he stopped himself. "Um, sorry." he muttered apologetically, avoiding her eyes.

When he looked at her from the corner of his eyes, he realized she wasn't really paying attention anyhow. Her eyes were focused on something only she could see and she appeared to be lost in thought.

Ichigo finished eating in silence.

-x-

Rukia looked intensely at the nearly empty glass of orange juice Ichigo had discarded before excusing himself to the bathroom. Her eyebrows were in a v-shape as she concentrated on the object before her.

Mentally counting to three, she reached up and went to grab the glass…

And watched as her hand passed through with the feeling of a light breeze. She let her hand fall back to her side in disappointment.

"You don't have to worry about that, I'll put in the dishwasher in a sec."

Rukia jumped and a small squeak escaped her lips. She turned, putting a hand over her chest like one usually does to calm an erratic heartbeat…except she felt nothing beneath the cloth of her shirt.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare ya'." Ichigo apologized, a lopsided grin forming on his face as he lazily scrubbed his wet neon locks with a white towel. So he'd just come out of the shower. "I never thought I'd apologize for scaring a ghost." he remarked with humor dancing on his features.

Rukia huffed. "I'm glad you're amused." She was surprised by the bitterness in her statement.

_Well,_ she reasoned. _I'm dead and he's joking about it, I have every right to be angry!_

Ichigo had the decency to look remorseful. He threw the towel over a nearby chair and walked past Rukia, picked up the glass of juice with ease -and act with caused Rukia a pang of jealousy- and placed it in the dishwasher as he'd said.

Then he turned to her. "Okay, so what now?"

Rukia stared in confusion.

"What do you need? I'll drive you where you have to go-" he started gesturing towards the front door.

Rukia stopped him by shaking her head. "I don't understand." she said. "I'm…dead. I have nowhere to be." her last statement came as no more than a whisper.

"Sure you do." Ichigo said without missing a beat. "You may be dead but you're still here, aren't you?"

Rukia looked at him uncomprehending. Seeing this, Ichigo motioned for her to follow him. He led them to the dinner table, which consisted of six chairs around a rectangular glass table. Ichigo took the seat at the head of the table and Rukia sat on the nearest one and looked at him, waiting for an explanation.

"Look, this may sound weird to you," he started. "But this isn't the first time I've seen ghosts. Seen them for as long as I can remember actually."

Rukia stared in fascination. "So you're psychic?"

"_No._" he denied immediately. "I just…"

"See dead people?"

"Exactly."

"And how is that _not_ psychic?" Rukia questioned, quirking an eyebrow.

"It's not! You don't see me going around with some crystal ball of doing magic card tricks, do you?" Ichigo growled, and Rukia could already see that this man had a short fuse and she was quickly consuming it.

She shrugged. "Whatever you say."

Ichigo rubbed his eyes exasperatedly, making a mental note to pick up some aspirin that day. "What I'm trying to say, is I know a bit about this stuff. The fact that you're here and haven't moved on means you still has some business to attend to. Now let's have it. What is it; a boyfriend? Lonely Grandmother? Pet goldfish?"

Rukia was looking at him like he had grown another head. But then her expression went back to neutral and she simply said, "I don't have a goldfish."

Ichigo deadpanned, he tried to remind himself to stay patient. _The faster you deal with this, the sooner you'll get rid of her Kurosaki._ "Okay. In case I didn't make this clear enough for you," he began again, this time with an edge showing more clearly in his voice. "Here's the deal: You're a ghost. You have some emotional bindings keeping you from passing on, going into the light or whatever. You have to deal with whatever it is so you can find peace and _move on_."

Rukia sat there and took in the meaning of his words. She looked down at her hands on her lap, knowing that if she tried to put them on the table they'd just fall through.

"…Move on…" she repeated softly to herself.

She trailed off, eyes focused on nothing in particular, until finally Ichigo spoke. "So?" he eyed her expectantly. He didn't have all day after all. His shift at the hospital started at two in the afternoon.

Rukia hesitated for a moment before looking up at him with determined eyes.

"I want to see my brother."

* * *

**A/N: So I debated on whether or not to actually end it there or not, but when I started to write more I realized it really belonged in a new chapter so...there you go.**

**Something I wanted to clear up here; this story will be IchiRuki, but it will also focus on the whole ghost/moving on/etc theme, so, like in this chapter, not _everything_ will be exclusively looovee (but there will be plenty of that too, fear not!) Anyway, hope you enjoyed!:D Thanks to:**

**Substitute for the soul **  
**xwhitemoonx **  
**shiningpearl **  
**MeoNg **  
**AwesomeAnimeStarIchiRuki **  
**YLCourt **  
**RukiHina15**

**Thanks for the reviews and for sharing your thoughts on the story****:)**** Whether you're new to it or had started reading the original, I'm glad to see you're interested^^**

**Don't hesitate to review and let me know your thoughts! I do enjoy reading them ;) Til next time! -_Sally out_  
**


	3. Life leaves You behind

"So, your brother," Ichigo began, staring ahead as he drove following the directions Rukia gave him. "What's he like?"

He felt Rukia turning to look at him for a moment then going back to stare out the passenger window. "I suppose you could describe him as a man of few words." she said, and something in her tone made it sound like she was enjoying a private joke.

Ichigo glanced sideways at her. "You mean he's got a stick planted up his ass?"

Rukia chuckled a bit and looked at him. "You better not say that to his face."

The sly smile she wore as she said that sent a slight shiver down his spine, and he focused back on driving the rest of the way.

"Turn right up here." Rukia said, and Ichigo did. A few seconds later he pulled up beside…A mansion.

At least that's what it looked like. The place was _huge_. Not like average bug, but like _needs its own zip code huge._ And the way it looked; fresh paint, fairy tale garden, and even a set of fancy gates… It looked straight out of something from _Mtv Cribs._

"Woah…" he breathed as he took it in. "You sure this is the right place?" he turned to his passenger, tearing his gaze away from the breathtaking luxury.

Rukia nodded. "Home sweet home." she muttered, and he wasn't sure she meant him to hear it; he couldn't help but notice the bitter edge to her words, but decided not to ask. It was none of his business after all, or so he had to remind himself.

"Will he be there?" Ichigo questioned, knowing that most people would be working at the hour. Especially to be able to afford that kind of house. Then again, if the guy had just heard about his sister he probably wouldn't have left to work…

Rukia's eyebrows furrowed and she looked out at the house. "Probably not." she answered his question. "I'll just wait until he comes back." _It's not like I have anything better to do. _He could almost hear the unsaid statement.

"Well…if you're sure." Ichigo said.

Rukia nodded once resolutely and climbed off the car, passing through the door like a wisp of smoke. After years of seeing such things, Ichigo would have thought he'd be used to it, but it still took him a moment to recuperate.

He saw Rukia turn to look at him and he lowered the window on her side.

"Thanks…" she said. "For everything."

Ichigo grunted a "Sure thing." in response, and with a short awkward wave drove off. He tried but couldn't quite shake off a feeling that it was somehow wrong to leave her there…

But what was he thinking? She was a ghost like any other, who needed to finish whatever business she had to move on. He'd done what he could by bringing her to where she needed, now there was nothing left for him to do.

With that reasoning, he drove back to his apartment in hopes that he'd be able to catch s couple of extra hours of sleep before he had to go back to the hospital.

-x-

When Ichigo drove home that night after his shift, thoughts of warm bed sheets and pillows swarmed temptingly in his head. Despite having managed to sleep another two hours earlier that day before leaving for work, the previous row of days of sleepless nights were still catching up with him.

What he didn't expect was to find someone had broken into his apartment.

At least that's the conclusion he jumped to immediately after having reached the front door with the _1546_ on it, and just as he'd been about to turn the key in the lock, he heard a muffled sound coming from inside. He twisted the key and noted that the door had still been locked and showed no signs of a break-in, but hey, who was to say these guys weren't good at what they did?

He hesitated only long enough to cuss out the crappy security on the complex that they charged him monthly along with maintenance, before throwing the door open with his fists up and ready to strike the perpetrator along with the time honored war cry of "HAH!"

A small surprised gasp directed his gaze to a slight figure sitting on a chair in the living room. He was speechless for a moment.

"…Rukia?" he asked in amazement, letting his hands drop to his sides.

She was looking at him with a startled expression.

"What are you doing here?"

"I-I was just…" she trailed off as her breath hitched with a half-choked sob. "_I-_"

Not knowing what else to do, Ichigo -after closing the door behind him- walked over to her ad sat beside her. Normally the leather chair would only accommodate one person, but Rukia was so tiny that even if she hadn't been non-solid they could both fit together. The orange-haired man sat, still in his doctor's robe, and said softly, "It's okay to cry."

And with that, the petite girl stopped biting her lip and allowed the sobs to come freely, her shoulders shaking and her hands tightly wrapped around herself as she cried without tears. Ichigo wasn't one to comfort people, but for once he wished he could at least put an arm around the girl and ease her pain even if only slightly. Of course, he knew his arm would only pass through as if she were merely air, and would only serve to remind her of that which she had lost.

So instead, he only sat there quietly and waited as she cried.

Rukia wasn't sure how long they sat there, but by the time she was done, she had to admit she felt a lot better. Well, she inwardly noted, as 'better' as anyone can feel in death.

"Umm," Ichigo started, seeing she'd gone calm for a while now. "Sorry to ask but, why are you here? I mean, didn't you go see your brother?" Wasn't that her unfinished business? Shouldn't she have passed on already?

Rukia saw both questions in his eyes. "I did." she said, her mind immediately going back to the image of Byakuya.

She remembered thinking that he wouldn't be home, and she had been right. What she hadn't known, is that he still had no clue that his little sister had died. At first she'd thought it odd, when at noon, only about an hour or so after she'd arrived -time wasn't much to her lately- he'd walked into the house looking as stoic as always.

She had felt a pang of hurt at that; sure he wasn't the most affectionate man, but had her death really not affected him at all?

Of course, it was only after he stepped in and she observed him a bit longer -somewhat still getting used to not being seen by him, but previously prepared- that she noticed the slight stress lines on his face, and the nearly imperceptible tension in his cold features. And then, moment later, after he'd undone his tie and removed his jacket, he picked up his cell phone and spoke.

"Renji."

Rukia had felt another pang. _Renji… _She forced herself to focus on the conversation, or at least Byakuya's side of it.

"Have you received any news about Rukia's whereabouts?" he asked, and that was when Rukia came to the devastating realization: _he didn't know yet._

Some part of her told her it was better if she left -she didn't want to see his reaction; but another, stronger part refused to move.

Static sounds came from the phone, indicating someone was speaking, and she saw Byakuya's expression change. It went from stoic and slightly tense, to completely emotionless- _guarded._

"The hospital?" the dark-haired man asked into the receiver. "What did they say?"

Rukia could almost hear the painful silence on the other end, before a slight crackling of words…

Byakuya's expression didn't alter, but he lost all color. He didn't say anything as he snapped his phone shut and back into his pocket. He took a few measured steps to the luxurious kitchen and, as if it were any other day, took out a bottle of what she knew to be greatly expensive wine, served himself a cup, and took a moderated sip.

Anyone who saw this would have see nothing wrong with the scene. But Rukia had grown to know her brother well enough to realize he never drank in the middle of the day…Never except on one day.

The anniversary of her sister's death.

"He hadn't known." Rukia said, barely above a whisper, to the only person in the world who would hear her. "I saw him find out."

Ichigo understood immediately, and he felt his chest tighten with remorse for this girl. To see your loved ones find out of your death…He couldn't begin to imagine. He had to fight to clear away the image of a sobbing Yuzu or a shell-shocked Karin out of his head. Ichigo had had the misfortune of seeing plenty of brothers, fathers, sisters, mothers, friends and lovers hear news of the death of their loved one. The eyes of many still haunted him.

"_His eyes…_" Rukia's voice shook and her hands tightened to fists on her lap as she fought to clear the lump that was rising in her throat again. The image of her brother -proud, calm and collected Byakuya-, sitting calmly with a cup of wine, seemingly calm to anyone who didn't know…

Rukia knew. She saw his gray eyes…they were _broken_.

"I'm sorry." Ichigo spoke, and Rukia heard the sincerity in his voice.

After making sure she could trust herself to speak again without breaking down, she continued. "I couldn't take it after that. It was too painful." she admitted. "I left the room, I think I was shaking… " she began to recount, getting more lost in her thoughts than the present.

Byakuya's state had tormented her, she felt that she would collapse, she needed someone. Someone to run to, someone to escape to… The person she had run to all her life to escape when things got too pressing for her. It only made sense to go to him in the afterlife.

"I'm not sure how I did it." she spoke, aware of Ichigo's eyes on her though her own gaze was fixed on her lap. "I just thought I had to get there, _needed_ to go there…And suddenly, I was there. At my best friend's house."

Renji's house was a far cry from Byakuya's fancy abode, but in Rukia's opinion it had always been much homier. She was instantly brought a sense of comfort by the generally messy atmosphere and carpets in need of a vacuum. This had been her sanctuary for a long time.

"Ren-" she remembered having started to call out of pure custom, before remembering he wouldn't hear.

Rukia began looking for him, going to the living room as she followed a trail of empty and crumpled up beer cans…Not a good sign. It hadn't occurred to her that this time, the pain she was looking to escape might just be worse here.

"_Renji."_ she had whispered brokenly, despite knowing its inevitability, the moment she saw him.

He was sitting on the old, stained couch which the two of them had regularly shared for their weekly movie nights and fallen asleep on countless occasions. The sight of him on it now shattered those happy memories and twisted them to remind her of the painful truth.

The man with the obnoxiously red hair she had so often teased him about sat forward with his elbows on his knees and his head hanging low. He didn't wear his usual pony tail, so his long locks fell over his shoulders and around his tattooed face. Rukia inched forward and took one look at that face… And felt her heart twist in her chest.

His agonized features were set on a closed cell phone resting on top of a coffee table currently cluttered with more empty beer cans and a couple of half-full ones. Renji reached out to take one of the non-empty ones and he chugged its contents in two gulps before crushing the metal in his fist and throwing carelessly away on the floor.

Seeing him like this, her oldest and possibly dearest friend…Rukia felt the unshakable need to comfort him somehow, so she did the only thing she could think of and, kneeling down before him, put a hand over his knee, careful not to forget herself so as not to have it fall through. She couldn't feel the rough material of his jeans underneath her palm, but she contented herself with the gesture.

"_Damn it!"_ Renji had swore, and then his tortured eyes met hers. She was startled, her breath catching as she thought for a moment _He sees me!_ But it was short-lived as she realized he was looking _through _her, at the old television set behind her which she hadn't noticed was on until that moment.

"_-younger sister of businessman Byakuya Kuchiki, owner of the Kuchiki enterprises, was reported dead at the Karakura General at approximately three am last night." _spoke the reporter in a practiced manner. _"Rukia Kuchiki was found stabbed an hour earlier north of the intersection of Karasuma and Gojo streets. Word says that the deceased was on her way to a business dinner with Byakuya Kuchiki and Sosuke Aizen, owner of the Kyoka Suigetsu corporation, to close a business deal that would unite both companies. The results of this deal had been rumored to affect the entirety of Japan's business world and monopolize important companies like-"_

Renji had clicked off the TV at that point. Not like he needed to listen to any of what they said on the news about the business deal Rukia had been on the verge of closing; being Byakuya's right hand man and Rukia's best friend, he had certain privileges like being well-informed. The red head chuckled bitterly.

"Deal of the century…" he's spoken to the supposedly empty room, a twisted imitation of a smile on his face. _"A lot of good it did you, didn't it?"_

Rukia flinched as Renji savagely threw the remote against the wall and it smashed to pieces. Then she turned her attention back to the man. His fists were nearly white and she noticed his eyes were glassy. She didn't think she'd ever seen Renji cry…

Back in the present, Rukia spoke. "It was bad."

After that she had seen Renji finally break down completely. He had called her name over and over, and cried desperate, broken sobs; tears had spilled own his face with incredible speed. And she had been helpless to watch it all; witness her friend's pain without being able to do a damn thing about it.

It was a punishment worse than anything she could imagine.

And as she watched the broken sight of her best friend, calling his name and unable to reach him, it finally became too much for her. The pain, the horror of her death…It was overwhelming. She screamed, an earth shattering, piercing wail as she gripped her hair in her hands and fell to despair, wishing and needing to get out of there. Far away from the pain of her brother and her friend, far away from the pain of the life that had left her behind.

"-and I appeared here." she finished telling Ichigo, a slight awe in her voice after she recounted a brief version of her sudden desire to run away from Renji's house. "I still don't know how I did it. It was like…One moment I closed my eyes, and when I opened them, I was here." she tried, in vain, to explain that which she couldn't understand. "I don't even know why I ended up back at _your_ place." she laughed weakly.

"I suppose," she added thoughtfully. "That I was looking to escape life, so I went after death."

Ichigo, who had been soberly listening up until that point, eyed her strangely. "Are you trying to tell me you think I'm death?"

Despite herself, Rukia laughed at his mildly insulted tone. "Though your scowl might be misleading, no. I didn't think that. It's just that, you were the first person I saw since I died, and the only one I've been able to interact with since then. Guess that's why I'm here." she finished.

Ichigo looked now like he was trying to take it all in. "…So you didn't move on?"

"I think we've established that." she looked at him with a deadpan expression.

He didn't seem to pay much mind to her as he appeared to be trying to absorb the fact that his plan hadn't worked. After a few minutes, he said to her, "Well then, there must be something else you have to do."

"A brilliant conclusion." Rukia said, and she didn't even bother trying to mask the irritation in her voice.

"Look, I'm only trying to help here." Ichigo said defensively.

"Well don't." she snapped, standing from her place on the chair. "You've done enough." she was surprised at the resentfulness in her own voice.

"Hey, you came to me, remember?" Ichigo said, standing as well. "_You_ showed up here."

Rukia was on the verge of yelling at him, before she caught herself. She wasn't angry at Ichigo. She was just…frustrated. "I know, I know." she sighed. "…Sorry."

"Apologize like you mean it."

"Don't push it."

That settled that.

The pair of people stood in the living room looking in different directions, each lost in their own cloud of thoughts.

"I'm tired." Ichigo finally announced. "We'll deal with this tomorrow. Just…"

"We?" Rukia questioned, making Ichigo blinked.

"As in 'you' and 'I'?"

"I'm _aware_ of the pronoun!" she growled, trying to hold in her temper. "I _meant_," she began again. "You're going to help me?"

Ichigo shrugged. "I'm going to try." he admitted, not noticing the change upon Rukia's expression. "Now, as I was saying, you should probably get comfortable for the night. Tomorrow morning I'll-" he trailed off as he saw she wasn't exactly paying attention. "What's the matter?" he asked, and proceeded to scowl and wave a hand in the air in front of her face when she still didn't pay attention. "Hey!"

She snapped back, glaring as she slapped his hand away. Before he could properly glare back, her demeanor changed back into the calm face she'd worn just before.

"Thank you."

Her sincere face and words struck him enough to cut off whatever he would have said next.

"Whatever." he muttered, looking away as he put his palm on his nape.

From the corner of his eye he saw Rukia step out of the living room, and he felt the corner of his mouth to tug up slightly. When he realized he was smiling, he quickly shook himself out of it and went back to his scowl. That's when he noticed…

"Oi!" he rushed out of the living room after the petite raven-head. "You're not sleeping in my room tonight! I got sore from that couch last night!"

"Get a better one then!"

"Like hell I will! Wait- what the hell is wrong with this one?"

"Nothing; then you have no problem sleeping in it."

"Wha-! Hey! Get back here!"

The sounds of their yelling voices got fainter and muffled as they disappeared into his room, still arguing.

Ichigo no longer just felt a head ache coming on- it _was_ on. But still, he reasoned, by tomorrow they'd figure something out and she'd be out of his hair, so he could get back on with his life (hopefully ghost-free for a while).

_That_ thought produced a smile later that night.

* * *

**A/N: I'll make this quick cause I gotta go, HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYBODY! Hope 2011 is great for all! **

**Thank you to my reviewers:  
**

**inFamous Arrogant Deviant **  
**xwhitemoonx **  
**xbleachfanx**  
**shiningpearl **  
**kejora **  
**KawaiiJen **  
**teshichan **  
**SuperRukia **  
**xoxokiss210 **  
**M.O.N.S.T.E.R. EATS .POCKY. **

**Thank you for taking the time to read and review, and I'm glad you guys are liking the story so far :) Also, a lot of people were excited to see Byakuya's reaction, hope I didn't disappoint anyone :S lol**

**Til next chapter (which will be next YEAR XD)! Here is a hint: I'm bringing in one of my FAVORITE characters! (and its not Gin) I'll leave up to you to wonder ;)  
**


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